Trump set to decide on U.S. government's stance towards Persian Gulf name
發佈日期: 2025-05-08 19:45
TVB News
President Donald Trump says he will make a decision about how the U.S. government will refer to the body of water now commonly known as the Persian Gulf when he visits Arab states next week.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects his hosts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to ask him about the U.S. officially calling the waterway the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia.
Iranian officials criticised any attempt to change the name. The Persian Gulf, the waters that separate Iran and historic Persia from the Arab nations, has long had an identity crisis for some of the world.
Historical records referring to the body of water as the Persian Gulf reportedly go back to the 16th Century.
In August, 1994, the United Nations issued an editorial directive to its staff to refer to the region as the "Persian Gulf" rather than simply the "Gulf". It's one of several clarifications the U.N. had made on the matter.
Over the past century, some Arab nations have proposed renaming it as the Arabian Gulf. Google maps refers to it as the Persian Gulf, with Arabian Gulf in brackets.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he may change Washington's stance and call it the Arabian Gulf. Trump said he expects to be asked about the issue when visiting Arab states next week.
At the White House, a reported asked him if he would start referring to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf and if he was going to make that announcement.
Trump replied: "They're going to ask me about that when I get there, and I'll have to make a decision. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. I don't know if feelings are going to be hurt. I have a case right over here, it's called Gulf of America. And I guess a lot of people get ideas from us. But the Gulf of America was something I thought should have been named a long time ago. I'm going to be giving a briefing on that. It was just done, then I'll make a decision.
Soon after assuming the presidency in January, Trump said the Gulf of Mexico would now be called the Gulf of America. The Associated Press earlier sued the Trump administration after its journalists were barred from covering most events because they would not follow the Gulf of America order.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said any change would indicate "hostile intent" towards Iran.
